Fake Hair, Real Hair, Who Cares?

Ok, so imagine my trepidation when I walked into PAX last week and was assaulted on approach in front of staff and customers by the chef (before even getting the chance to order my sandwich) who boldly asked, "Is that all yours?" At first I wondered what he was referring to and whether he was even speaking to me, but then I realized his eyes were fixated on my hair - Well, my lacefront wig that is. Shocked, I then found myself unconsciously stroking my bouncy mane of F427 streaked, curly tendrils while I fished for the right answer. I mean, how does one really answer that question? Technically, it is all mine since I paid for it and after all it is being worn on MY head, but does it actually grow out of my scalp? hmmmm, No. So, do I tell him the truth? If I say "yes", it would only be a little white lie, but I'm really not one for lying, and what if he ironically (with my kind of luck) bumps into me next week when I'm wearing my own natural mane that is the color 1B, and much less shorter and less thicker? I decided to go with the truth, so I answered "No, it's not". His eyes opened in amazement as though saying "No way!!" and I quickly tried to change the subject by attempting to order my sandwich. He then said "You look like you should be on the cover of a magazine". Relieved by his seemingly non-disappointment or disapproval in my choice of fake hair, I smiled and said "thank you", paid and left.
That whole incident had me thinking. First of all, I never would have expected a question like that to come from a man and one who doesn't even know me at that. Why would he care about whether my hair is real or not? But then I remembered all the boyfriends I've had who were obsessed with my hair for some reason. They all dreaded my wigs and weaves and hated the idea that I even liked to wear extensions. One of them said to me, "It makes me think, what else is fake?". After ditching my wig for a relaxer and bone straight coif, another even said to me, in the most relieved tone, "I thought you didn't have any hair". I mean really?? Is is that serious??
I will admit, I used to be one of those girls who swore up and down that I would never wear a weave much less a wig! "That's for the ghetto girls!" I would say. The most I was willing to do however, was wear a "piece" and that was it! All that changed when I participated in the Miss World pageant in 2004. That was my first exposure to the real world of extensions. All the contestants were wearing it. I, with the exception of only a handful were the only ones who were not flaunting a full head of long flowing "pageant hair". So when I was told that I would be going to the Miss Universe Pageant the following year, my pageant director and I decided to step our game up. He contacted Clem Lue Yat, a master hair weaver in New York to upgrade my hair for the pageant and that's when I was introduced to fusion hair. This is the addition of tiny strands of hair to your own hair through the use of the "fusion method" usually glue or micro cylinders. I could not believe the results. I could wash, style, color and cut my hair as I normally would, without even the slightest detection. The hair moved and looked just like my own.